Why page one for Modi’s poll talk?

Newspapers published from Delhi ostensibly believe their identity as national publications must have them place even trite election speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the front page Their misconception of the national also has them relegate regional leaders to inside pages even when they engage in substantive oratory This lopsided coverage is detrimental to democracy as it tailors the electoral wicket to the Bharatiya Janata Partyrsquos advantageTo check my intuition I analysed the coverage in three national newspapers of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign They are identified as One Newspaper Another Newspaper and Third Newspaper The starting date October 25 when Modi launched the PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission in Uttar PradeshOn October 26 One Newspaper featured a fullpage advertisement which said Modi has ldquoensured a transformation in healthcare in the past seven yearsrdquo and that Rs 64000 crore would be spent on healthcare infrastructure Presumably embarrassed at regurgitating the same details on page one One Newspaper banished the story on the event to an inside page as was also done by Third Newspaper which too had the same advertisement Another Newspaper however headlined its report on page one ldquoPast govts went slow on health infra ModirdquoAnnounced in 2018 the Ayushman Bharat had then been brilliantly spotlighted Does the launch of its different stages deserve page one treatment None of the three newspapers saw the event in the context of the simmering anger against the COVID19 mismanagementOn November 16 Modirsquos plane landed on the LucknowGhazipur Purvanchal Expressway which he then inaugurated The Indian Air Force organised a spectacular air show On the same day One Newspaper had a fullpage ad ldquoNaye Uttar Pradesh Ka Naya Expressway New Uttar Pradesh has New Expresswayrdquo Expectedly next morning One Newspaper headlined its frontpage story ldquoAt the inauguration of Indiarsquos longest eway PM launches into SP Samajwadi PartyrdquoOne Newspaperrsquos story quoted Modi saying leaders of the earlier government of Akhilesh Yadav did not want to be seen by his side when he would visit Uttar Pradesh ldquofor fear of losing their vote bank Muslimsrdquo but they ended up handing over the state to ldquomafiardquo and ldquopovertyrdquo Modirsquos tactic of polarising the electorate was not even decoded let alone analysedAnother Newspaperrsquos page one screamed ldquoModi opens eastern UP gateway Purvanchal Expresswayrdquo Its story said that political dynasties partnered to crush the ldquoaspirations of the people of Uttar Pradesh over the yearshelliprdquo Yawn That was a sevenyearold record playingThird Newspaper had on page one a photo of Modi stepping down from the plane with his spin on dynasties in an inside page The paper had a separate story on the air show Uttar Pradesh had landed a plane on a highway in 2015 Therersquos nothing to go gaga about now In fact the foundation stone for the Purvanchal Expressway had been laid earlier by Akhilesh Yadav and land acquisition for the highway had vigorously begun But his successor Yogi Adityanath realigned the highway in order to claim it as his idea True ldquoold wine in new bottlesrdquo does require a fresh launch which should not though masquerade as page one newsOn November 19 after repealing the three farm laws Modi inaugurated irrigation projects in Uttar Pradesh This lsquonewsrsquo was muscled out from page one by the repeal But One Newspaper thought Modirsquos trip was worthy of the inside flapmdashthat irritating strip attached to page onemdashwhere Modi was quoted saying ldquohellipwe do the politics of solutionrdquo His remark should get him the Irony of the Year awardOn November 25 Modi laid the foundation for the Noida International Airport at Jewar a project first conceived in 2001 by Uttar Pradeshrsquos then chief minister Rajnath Singh Yadav said he had wanted the Noida airport to be at Firozabad but Modi refused permission Mayawati claimed the Manmohan Singh government did not clear a blueprint for the same airport her government had preparedThese two voices did not make it to page one which is reserved for those with high status One Newspaper addicted to government ads celebrated the occasion with this page one headline ldquoAt Jewar Modi amp Yogi toast infra roast Oppositionrdquo Another Newspaper was sober ldquoNoida airport to be new logistics gateway Modirdquo It quoted him saying ldquoThe thinking of these people Opposition is selfinteresthellip whereas we follow the spirit of the nation firstrdquo Is Modirsquos inauguration spree devoid of selfinterestThird Newspaper declared on its front page ldquoJewar airport PM says will change west UP Yogi flays lsquoJinnah Backersrsquordquo The term lsquoJinnah backersrsquo was a reference to Yadav counting Jinnah among freedom fighters Third Newspaper must feature on its explainer page whether Jinnah can be described as a freedom fighterOver the next two months Modi will speak of development vote bank Muslims dynasties and mafia rulemdashhis signature themes since 2013 Yadav will demand caste census and jobs to be distributed in proportion to the population of each category of social groups My prediction Modi will hog page one and Yadav if featured will be banished to the inside pages Such are mediarsquos biasesmdashand its greed for government advertisementsThe writer is a senior journalistSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper